Avs coach Patrick Roy says he will be watching hockey Friday night, but he’s more interested in what happens in Ottawa, where the Chicago Blackhawks play the Senators. He is not so concerned with what goes on in Dallas, where the Stars host the Nashville Predators.

If the Preds win, Colorado clinches a playoff spot, but that’s virtually inevitable anyway. Minnesota, which has lost six of its last eight, is now 13 points behind the Avs for the third automatic Central Division playoff spot, with the Wild having eight remaining games and Colorado nine. That’s pretty much a done deal and Roy agrees. He said he’d rather look ahead (catching Chicago) than looking behind the teams that have very little chance to catch the Avs.

[1] online story from Friday’s noon practice looks at John Mitchell’s return from that horrific collision: http://www.denverpost.com/avalanche/ci_25441708/john-mitchell-return-avs-from-bad-collision-saturday